Bite Size: 9-7-11

SOUNDS FOR PEACE BENEFITIn remembrance of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Buddha Mind Monastery will host a benefit concert and dinner on Sept. 11 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Nick Harroz Midwest City Community Center, 200 N. Midwest Blvd. in Midwest City.

Activities will include a brief peace ceremony, followed by a vegetarian buffet, live concert, Zen martial arts exhibition, silent auction, raffle and door prizes.

Free childcare will be available, with activities provided by the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum Hope Chest.

The peace ceremony will be held in memory of terrorism victims. An all-you-can-eat vegetarian dinner will be provided by the Grand House China Bistro, Fung’s Kitchen, Matthew Kenney OKC and local chefs.

All the proceeds from the event will benefit the Buddha Mind building fund.

FUNDS RAISED FOR DEPUTYMr. Pho Noodle House, 1133 N.W. 25th, recently held a benefit evening for Maj. John Waldenville, who was injured during a May robbery in Stockyards City.

Restaurant owners Phillip Truong and his wife, Sandy, welcomed guests and raised more than $12,000. During the event, there was a silent auction and live music from the JJ Band, consisting of John and Jimmy Nguyen.

“Everyone was enjoying (their time),” Sandy Truong said.

ONE OF THE TOP RETAILERSInternet Retailer Magazine ranked homewetbar.com, an Oklahoma-based company, as one of the top 1,000 e-retailers in the U.S., based on 2010 Internet sales.

The company came in at No. 906 and saw a growth rate in 2010 of 28 percent. Homewetbar.com was founded in 2001 and specializes in bar accessories, gifts and home entertainment products.

CHOW CHAT Angela Jones is the co-owner with her partner, Kate Waring, of Pasties and Pies (say “paahsties”). In her spare time, she sells those British pasties and savory pies at the Edmond Farmers’ Market on Saturdays. In her real life, she is the director of health and wellness at the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City.

You’ve been told you look like:

“All of my life, people said I looked like Candice Bergen.”

You would take an exchange student: “To the Arbuckle Wilderness (in) the mountains in Oklahoma. “ A favorite thing to do that doesn’t cost money? “Run.”

Nice recent happening: “We developed a Facebook for ‘Let’s Make Ellen Our No. 1 Thunder Girl.’ From that we got about 22,000 hits in about 10 days, and it got into the news. This happened at the time of the Piedmont tornado and people were connected and helped each other. It was a fluke.”

Equipment obsession? “Rolling pin.” One thing people don’t know about you? “I played college soccer on the Olympics Development team in the ’80s.”

And you were the first to: “Well, when I was in high school, we didn’t have girl’s soccer and when we did, I scored the very first goal.”

After death, you’d come back as:

“Myself.”

Learned to cook: “I am self-taught and can get through most any recipe.”

Where’d you meet Kate? “In Chicago.”

You stay away from: “Lamb. I tried it and it was a little too pungent for me; just the thought …” Nickname as a kid: “Penny — and I don’t know why.”

Got out to eat for: “Sushi.” Pets: “Cats Shiloh and Nimbus, and Denver the dog.

Surprised: “By a customer at the Edmond Farmers’ Market who had a monkey that was dressed up propped up on his neck.”

—Carol Smaglinski

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